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Enid OnCue station remains popular for lottery sales

Mitchell Willetts | Enid News & Eagle

October 22, 2018

ENID, Okla. — At the intersection of Willow and Oakwood, four OnCue employees stand behind the convenience store’s checkout counter, two working registers, two standing in wait for waves of would-be lottery winners.
Two automated lottery ticket machines stand occupied against the north and east walls, and there’s a line of customers at the counter during the mid-afternoon Monday.
Record jackpots are drawing big crowds to local convenience stores and gas stations. The Mega Millions jackpot reached a record $1.6 billion after last Friday’s drawing failed to produce a winner. Saturday’s Powerball drawing had the same result, no winner, bringing its jackpot to $620 million.
The next drawings come Tuesday for Mega Millions and Wednesday for Powerball.
This gas station location sold the second-most lottery tickets in the state in 2014, and in 2013 it sold the most tickets. This year it isn’t quite so slammed, but it’s still certainly popular, OnCue district supervisor Doug Griffith said.
“Willow and Oakwood is by far the largest lottery volume store that I have in my group,” Griffith said. He isn’t sure why this particular location is so popular.
“We’ve got managers who have really just embraced it and have been great at responding to the customers, but there’s really no rhyme or reason as to why the sales are higher out there,” he said.
His group includes stores in Ponca City, Billings, Perry, Morrison and Enid.
The Willow and Oakwood store is No. 1 in the state for sales on scratchers, Griffith said, and No. 5 in overall lottery sales this year.
“It’s not unusual for someone to spend $300 or $400 on tickets in a visit,” he said. “We get people who come in and buy one ticket and some who spend a lot more. We get all types.”
Enid resident and Vietnam veteran Don Dixon bought a few of each, and has relatively modest plans for his winnings should the unlikely occur.
“I would pay off all my bills and then give 10 percent of it to the church,” he said. “With what’s left over after that I would help my children.”
Whatever happens, he said, luck won’t have anything to do with it.
“I served 10 years in the military, and I’m saying there’s no such thing as luck, it’s just whatever God wants,” he said.
There still are plenty out there who haven’t caught the urge to play. Enid resident Steve Holliday walked out with some refreshments, but no numbers.
“I’m not playing, but my daughter is going crazy over it,” Holliday said. “To me, it’s really no different than going to a casino.”